A Year in the Lives
by hols09
Summary: Sirius sighed. 'Are you or are you not curious as to what they're up to? ' One chapter for every month in Lily and James's last year at Hogwarts. Oneshots, vignettes, whatever you will. Please revie
1. September

A/N: Just another idea I'm playing around with... a series of oneshots/drabbles/I-dunno-what. Enjoy. Leave a review, _please_! And, um, I'm not JKR... but neither is anyone else on this website... 

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**September**

James Potter's eyes flickered open, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to see a thing. His room was pitch black, but unfortunately for him it wasn't soundproof.

"What are you going on about, Evans?"

A noise of digust echoed across from the other room. It was their first night as Head Boy and Girl, respectively. (It was important to make that distinction, seeing as how Sirius had already tried twice to charm James's badge into its more feminine counterpart.) And now both were trying to get to sleep, a little uneasy with the new arrangements that had been made for them.

It was a rare thing for both the Head students to be from the same house, so the situation warranted a creative approach to how to divide the very circular top floor of the Gryffindor tower. It finally ended up with a decent size common room (complete with two desks, bookcases, a couch, and a fireplace) and two bedrooms that were connected by a shared bathroom. The same staircases that led other students to their dormitories joined into one set of steps that led right into their common room. It was a hike, but both Lily and James agreed that it was worth it.

When Lily didn't respond any further, James spoke up again. "Evans? What's wrong?"

Sighing first, Lily replied, "It's this damn _bed_..." James heard her bed creak and the sheets rustle. "It's _the_ single most uncomfortable..." Her voice trailed off as she used some choice words for what she thought of the large four-poster. James couldn't help but to laugh.

"Can't you just, I dunno, charm it or something?"

"Hex it, more like... but I don't think they'd be all too pleased with me if I set the bed on fire."

James pondered that for a moment. She was probably right. Shame... could have been an interesting way to kick off their seventh year, he thought to himself.

There was silence for a few more seconds until once more, Lily moved about her bed, setting off another staccato of ancient-sounding creaks.

James grinned. He knew all too well but Lily's reaction would be, but he couldn't resist: "You can always come share my bed, Evans, it's quite comfor-"

Before he could finish, Lily had picked up her wand and sent a spare pillow whizzing across the space. It was nearly invisible in the dark, and just as James yelled out in protest, rubbing his nose, she slammed the door to their bathroom shut, and yelled, "Keep dreaming, Potter!"


	2. October

**October**

Peter Pettigrew bit his lip, looking towards the door of the Head Students' common room. The other three Marauders didn't even glance up at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. The door swung open easily, and Lily edged sideways into their common room, holding out her heavy book bag at an angle. Seeing the slight smile on her face, Peter breathed a sigh of relief and went back to his work. Lily walked over to the desk she had claimed back in September and set her bag on the cushioned chair that accompanied it. She then went to the couch, moving some of Sirius's papers so that she could sit down. All four boys were still silent, their quills scratching feverishly. Finally, Lily couldn't help it.

"Have you all even been to dinner?"

Remus shook his head, taking a quick break. "Nope- _someone_ forgot to remind us about a certain Potions paper due tomorrow..." A flush was creeping onto James's face. "Like I told you, I'm sorry," he apologized. His friends snickered. "Just messing with you, mate," Sirius responded.

Lily continued smiling until she glanced at Peter's paper. Prying his quill away, she neatly crossed out his last word, then wrote in the correct ingredient for a Euphoria Elixir. "Thanks," Peter muttered, and then he went back to writing.

"D'you want me to go get you something to eat before it's all gone?" Lily asked, feeling a bit awkward from just sitting in the silence.

Sirius and James both glanced up this time and exchanged a grin. "Nah..." James began. "If we just wait.. oh, a half hour, maybe, we can get whatever we want."

Lily raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "How so?"

Another exchanged grin, but this time more mischievous. "Just you wait, Evans, we'll show you."

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Crossing her arms to her chest, Lily looked up at the large painting with a mixture of apprehension and cynicism. "What's this supposed to be?"

Sirius draped an arm across the redhead's shoulder, smiling to himself as he imagined what James's reaction would have been were he there. But he wasn't; he and Moony had chosen to stay up in the tower, continuing to work. "The kitchen, of course."

"Oh?" was all Lily said as she gently put Sirius's arm down, grinning. She took a step closer to the still-life painting. "How do you get in?"

At that, Peter jumped forward, and reached up to the pear. He tickled it quickly, and in seconds, the door to the kitchens lay open. He made a move to go in, but Sirius grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him back. "Ladies first," he said, motioning with his free hand to Lily. And so she did; perhaps a bit hesitantly.Already, several house-elves were edging forward, looking perhaps a bit surprised not to see all four of the Marauders, but not unpleasantly so. Lily gave them a quick, polite smile, having never been around a house-elf before. She then looked expectantly to Sirius.

Sirius nonchalantly waved a couple of the elves over. "Hello," he began, but he soon was instructing them to get whatever food they could - enough for four. When they scurried away to get it ready, Sirius turned to Lily.

"So, how're things?" he asked nonchalantly.

Lily raised an eyebrow, knowing Sirius too well to just brush that off as an innocent inquiry. "Just fine," she replied. The truth was, for some reason, things had changed. She wasn't sure yet if she liked it or not.

At this same time last year, she would have thought it impossible, but James actually seemed a bit more mature. Not in a studious, serious way, though- just a bit more grown up. She hadn't caught him terrorizing Severus (or any of the other Slytherins, for that matter) once, and he didn't try to bribe her into a date every chance he got. Remus, Sirius, and Peter often came up to their common room to do homework or relax, and it was much more enjoyable than she expected. She had always known they were funny, but it was different. (Admittedly, she could do without Peter trying to put his feet up on her desk.)

Still, though, Lily could feel a wisp of disappointment go through her as James's attempts to ask her out grew more and more rare. While he wasn't unfriendly in the least, she found herself considering just using some other seventh-year to make James jealous. It was a horrible thought, for more than one reason, and she tried to forget it...

Sirius pretended to scrutinize her, shaking back his dark hair from his face. "You're not finding it a bit boring, are you?" Wanting to make sure he didn't completely give himself away, he added, "Future-this and N.E.W.T.s-that... gets old pretty fast."

Lily shrugged, looking around the kitchen, conscious of Peter staring at her. "Oh, I dunno," she said slowly at first. "I guess it could use some... spice."

Grinning, Sirius decided it was safe to keep going. "Any particular reasons why?"

Lily, who had taken a step to her left, examined a ridiculously large pantry, turning around briefly to answer Sirius's question. "If you're going to keep beating around the bush like that, I'm not going to tell you a thing." Sirius laughed. He knew that this was the Lily that James loved. Unfortunately, James had finally decided to take Moony's advice and try and tone things down a bit. Secretly, though, he was desperate to know if his newfound attitude around Lily was having any effect. "Fine," Sirius conceded. "I was only wondering if you maybe..."

"He was wondering if you still think James is an obnoxious prat," Peter interjected. Sirius grimaced out of annoyance, and Lily's green eyes widened. She wasn't quite sure how to respond. Luckily for her, however, just as she was getting out the word 'um...', two house elves came over toting a tray of dinner and dessert.

While Peter swore he didn't hear anything, Sirius would later promise James that just as he passed Lily on the way out of the kitchen, she murmured, "Things change..."

**A/N:** Okay, I made this one longer - sort of out of necessity, though. But I also don't want them to be huge. I have this great tendency to forget all semblance of a plot and climax, and then I give up. But thank you much for the reviews! Sorry that this one kind of sucked.


	3. November

**November**

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" 

James Potter's head snapped back towards Sirius so fast that his neck cracked. "Yeah, yeah. Of course."

Sirius raised an eyebrow, plainly requesting that James repeat whatever he had just said. Remus was grinning slightly as he took an apple from a bowl on the table, and Peter sniggered out loud, earning him a kick underneath the table from James. They were having lunch in the Great Hall, along with everyone else in Hogwarts. Sirius was picking his friends' brains for ideas on his latest predicament. It wasn't what his next prank would be, nor was it how to get out of his Friday night detention. Twenty times more serious, in his opinion. "How am I going to get Elizabeth to forgive me?" Sirius repeated exasperatedly.

James shrugged, giving his best friend a sympathetic look, hoping that that would be enough for him. Naturally, it wasn't, and Sirius scowled, then put his forehead in his palms, elbows resting on the solid table.

"It might help to know exactly what happened," Remus pointed out.

Sirius shifted his hands to his temples, staring at Remus, as if he was waiting for Moony to just say 'forget it.' When he didn't, Sirius sighed and sat back up, gathering his thoughts. "Well, you see... her best friend, Nicole, is it? Well, Nicole_might_ have overheard me saying something about how I could-" he cleared his throat- "um, get any girl in our year to go out with me... if not more..."

The other three Marauders laughed out loud. A typical Sirius remark: harmless, but perhaps not so funny to outsiders. Sirius didn't laugh, however, instead continuing with, "Of course, I never would utter such a thing... downright preposterous... shameful... completely uncharacteristic..."

James smirked. "Good, because it's not true, anyway." He began to laugh again when he saw Sirius's haughty expression.

"Surely you jest," Sirius said, in a half mocking, half dangerous tone. (Peter was perhaps the only one who, once again, did not pick up on it.)

James just grinned, dropping his eyes and pushing food around his plate. When he looked back up to Sirius's interrogating stare, he shrugged. "Did it sound like I was joking?" At that, Remus raised his eyebrows. This was going downhill, quickly. The competitive edge in Sirius was beginning to rear its quite handsome, shaggy black head. He crossed his arms to his chest.

"If you don't believe me, _Prongs_, then how about we arrange a little bet?"

James, with his attention now fully on Sirius, had never been able to turn down a bet. He succeeded more often than not, and if he didn't, he always had enough Galleons to fall back on. "Just name the terms, Master Padfoot."

Sirius wasted no time. "I bet that I can persuade Lily Evans to go on a date with me in less than a week."

The grin dropped off of James's face like an anchor being dropped overboard. He studied his friend's face intently for a few seconds, then held out a hand. But before he let Sirius grasp it to shake, he added, "But you're not to get attached or anything." His face was beginning to betray his feelings. Sirius grinned. "Don't worry, Prongs."

Without letting go of James's hand, he laid out the rules of the bet. If he succeeded, James had to take notes in History of Magic for one month (a duty they normally shared) as well as complete two weeks' worth of astronomy charts. James scoffed at those terms, but knew better than to argue. But he added his own as well, sticking to schoolwork like Sirius had done, though it was much more tempting to make Padfoot sit next to Snivellus in Potions for a week or something along those lines.

With that settled, they went on their way to Charms, Sirius wearing a confident smirk as he led the way, and James exchanging a worried glance with Moony.

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"What _is_ he looking at?" Lily Evans slammed her Potions textbook shut, flashing an annoyed look at one of her best friends. To Lily, the feeling of being watched was nearly unbearable. Laughing, the other girl suggested that they finish studying in their dorm. Lily was getting a little too agitated to remain in the Gryffindor common room, but she shrugged in agreement, perhaps a touch disappointed in herself for letting Potter best her once again. _But honestly, why was he staring at me?_ she asked herself. As she leaned over, shoving her parchment and spare things back into her bag, she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"All right, Lily?"

Apparently Potter hadn't trademarked that debonair pick-up line, which surprised her. No, instead, it was Sirius. She straightened back up, finding the handsome seventh-year leaning over the back of the couch she was seated at. "Fine, and yourself?" Lily asked coolly.

"Sick of doing homework, actually." Brushing his hair out of his face, he rounded the side of the couch and came to sit next to her, pushing another student's things aside.

Continuing to pack up her work, Lily responded, "Did you even do any?" Sirius laughed and shook his head. "Not a bit. Hogsmeade trip next weekend, isn't there?"

With a nod, Lily responded affirmatively, wondering what he was up to. Was this why James seemed so annoyingly entranced? She felt rather as if though she was about to have some great prank pulled on her. Sirius pulled one of Lily's parchments over. He studied it appraisingly, then abruptly pointed to one section. "This is wrong." Before Lily could react, he asked, "Can I see a quill?"

Lily slowly handed her favorite quill over, watching as he scrawled a phrase on the bottom of the parchment. It was definitely_not_ a correction to her notes on vampire regulations for History of Magic. Instead, it read: _Act natural - please. I'll give you a galleon if you suggest we go up to your common room when I ask._

While Lily certainly did notneed an extra galleon, she couldn't deny being horribly curious. She tried to deaden it by reasoning- this was just a prank, a joke, something she'd regret, but nevertheless, when Sirius suggested a few seconds later that they go up to the Head Students' common room with a wink, she grinned in reply and led the way. They left a rather slack-jawed James sitting behind.

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Lily sat down on the couch, extending her legs out and crossing her ankles. Still waiting for Sirius to explain what was going on, she watched him as he stood by the doorway, as if trying to make sure they weren't being listened in on. With a slight sigh, Lily took out her wand and pointed it at the door, charming it so that none would hear their conversation. Sirius grinned. "Much better."

Making a point to glance at her watch, Lily decided just to come out and ask. "What's this all about?"

"Hold it - I get to ask the questions," said Sirius, shaking his head as Lily studied him. "But first," he continued, "I suppose I should tell you that you're currently part of a bet."

Lily's eyes immediately widened as she tried to think of what to say next. "What kind of bet?" she finally asked, her voice accusing.

Sirius magicked an armchair so that it was right in front of Lily. He sat down with a sort of lazy grace, throwing his legs up over the arms of the seat. "A bet that I involved myself in solely for the benefit of my best friend." He paused for effect. "And if I've guessed correctly, it'll help you, too." Stifling a laugh at her expression, he decided that he really ought to explain. "I told James that I could get a date with you in less than a week." Before Lily could protest, he held up a finger for silence and then continued. "Of course, he's completely worried, and why not? What with my striking good looks and all..." Lily scoffed but didn't interrupt. "Anyways, like I said, think of it as more of a... um... favor." Sirius paused to take a breath and let Lily get her say. She was silent for a moment, and then:

"Well, that makes it all better..." She didn't sound nearly as angry as he thought she would- it was almost as if she was a bit relievedabout something."How is it supposed to be a favor?" she asked, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Sirius brightened. "It's a win-win-_win_ situation, really. I win my bet... and... well, you and James..." Lily raised an eyebrow as she waited for him to stop rubbing his neck and continue. "You know, I've always told Prongs just to keep doing what he's always done... we figured you'd crack eventually and just go out with him, if only once. But 'eventually' just isn't good enough for him anymore. He's actually taking advice from Remus..." Sirius shook his head, and Lily couldn't suppress a grin at the obvious effect that had on his ego. "But anyway, that's why he's laid off of you so much."

Lily was blushing even before Sirius said what she knew was coming next. "And like I said, if I've guessed correctly, you miss it, right?" He grinned as Lily turned determinedly away, staring at the door as if trying to bore a hole right through it.

Finally, Lily sighed out of exasperation. "Hypothetically speaking, of course... if I did... it's not like I can't just completely turn around and finally give into the one thing I've been avoiding for the past, oh, four years or so, I mean, I'd lose all dignity I had, if not become a complete laughingstock when HE turns ME down, because how do you know for sure that he's actually taking advice, what if he doesn't even care about me anymore?" She took a deep breath.

Sirius shifted in his chair so that he was facing her, and he grinned, but in a kinder way than normal. "Only one way to find out, though, right?"

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**Author's note: **This took forever because originally I was going to have Peeves in it... but every attempt I made at his dialogue came off a little too Gollum-sounding, ha ha ha. But I actually like this one a lot better than my first idea. Even if the ending's a bit rough. Please leave a review, I'm practically going through review-withdrawal!


	4. December

**December**

James breathed a contented sigh, sitting up a bit straighter as he looked around. It seemed as if he was hundreds of feet above the Hogwarts grounds, and it was a striking view. He had always been tempted just to leave the Quidditch pitch, go flying over the Forest maybe, or just circle the castle's many turrets and towers. Running a hand through his hair, he imagined just flying on forever, out of Hogwarts, past Hogsmeade, over the whole country... it was truly tempting. _Only half a year left, mate, half a year,_ he reminded himself as he continued to daydream.

But the rough voice of the Gryffindor team captain brought him back soon enough. "Come on, everyone, let's do this right, for once..." James grimaced and allowed his broom to sink a bit, coming back into the formation along with the rest of the team. He tried hard not to glare at the captain. For the first time in his life, James found that Quidditch was not the stress-relieving activity it had formerly been. Instead, he despised having to put up with the near-daily practices.

He supposed part of it was jealousy. Being Head Boy was one thing, but he truly missed his role as team captain. He had only held the post for one year, and Gryffindor had done very well. However, McGonnagall had told him flat out that doing both roles would be far too much. He had argued briefly, but the stern witch told him to forget about it. But the other part was that the person who got it was completely undeserving.

Charlie Brigstock was the sixth-year Gryffindor who had stolen James's position. He was rude, unfair, and just a pain in the ass to deal with in general. James and his teammates had often wondered how the prat had even made it into Gryffindor, but those who knew him personally claimed that he hadn't always had that big of an ego. Just recently. However, no one could deny that he wasn't a spectacular Seeker.

Charlie cleared his throat. "One more time, guys, and then you go can go to dinner or I don't know what. Just at least_pretend_ to try this time around." Everyone reluctantly began to fly. One of his fellow Chasers, Vanessa, who had been holding the Quaffle, quickly tossed it to James.

He missed.

Everyone came to a stop as James realized what he had done and went pelting after the falling red ball, cursing to himself. Since when had he_ever_ missed a toss? He caught up to the Quaffle quickly, and once he had it back, safely tucked under one arm, he flew back up. Charlie was obviously biting his tongue.

"Everything under control, Potter?"

James saluted Charlie, who scowled, and as soon as the captain had flown away, James threw the Quaffle to the other Chaser, a fifth-year named Ryan, and flew towards the goal hoops, drawing on all of his willpower to not just land and walk away from the pitch. Luckily, he only had to endure it for another fifteen minutes. Charlie blew his whistle and the team met back down on the turf. He said something about the game they had coming up after the holiday break, but James tuned it out. It was only when Charlie barked his name that he snapped back into attention.

"Potter! Get all the balls back in the box and put them in the changing rooms, will you?" James noted a bit of a malicious quality in Charlie's voice. It was probably because both Bludgers and the Snitch were still circling far above his head. Nevertheless, James mocked bowing to Charlie, one hand going for his wand. But it was too late; Charlie was already walking away. Somehow James couldn't bring himself to do anything with the captain's back to him. It would have been different were it, say, Severus Snape, but regardless, James bent down to pick up the Quaffle.

It was easy enough to get the two Bludgers, involving just a steady hand as he Summoned them. Once both of the unruly brown balls were chained into the trunk, he picked up his broom, preferring to chase after the Snitch rather than attempt to charm it into submission.

He circled the pitch several times before he noticed a golden glint a bit below him. He streaked after it, now locked onto the tiny sphere, barely breathing as he concentrated on what was ahead of him. Slowly the distance closed. He stretched out his left hand, leaning as far forward as he dared on the broomstick. Once he did catch the walnut-sized ball, it took him a moment to realize it. He drifted to a stop, halted in the air, far above the ground once again. He took a deep breath, and shoved his fist into one of his robe's inner pockets, depositing the fidgety Snitch there.

James looked up and around, taking another deep breath as he surveyed the grey skies. Steely hued clouds were slowly moving in, and he regretfully let his broom start to sink. He stopped abruptly though, sensing motion out of the corner of his eye. It was someone in the stands- they had their back to him, heading towards the stairs. James slowly flew closer, halting once more when he realized who it was. He grinned, lazily running a hand through his hair, though he was actually quite confused. After leisurely flying over, he hovered near the stand, quite prepared to give the person a scare.

"All right, Evans?"

Lily stopped, sticking a hand out to grab the banister. When she turned around, James saw that she looked a bit shocked. She did a good job of covering it up, though, and she let out a breath. "'Hello, Potter." She edged back into one of the rows of benches and seated herself nonchalantly. "Good practice?"

Somehow, James sensed that she was egging him on. Evidently she had been watching. That in itself was a bit odd. Nevertheless, he scowled. "On a scale of one to ten, that might've been... ah, I dunno... a negative four?" He carefully flew into the stands, dropping easily off of his broomstick and sitting a short distance from her. Lily stared out across the pitch and offered, "Sorry to hear that."

He waited a few seconds, then asked, "So what are you doing out here? You've never been the Quidditch type..."

"I went for a walk around the grounds... saw you all practicing... and I figured I'd watch for a bit," she explained with a slight shrug.

James nodded, pretending to understand, while in all actuality, he didn't. "Kind of cold for a walk."

"Yes, well... last day before the holiday break, not much to do." "You're not staying here, then?" He knew she never did, of course, unlike Sirius, who had brought all his belongings from home that summer.

"Nope." Lily brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and tightened her scarf. "I have a feeling I won't be home for long, though," she murmured, and right as James looked over, her eyes shut tightly, as if she wished she could withdraw what she said.

"Why's that?" he asked gently, beginning to realize that this was perhaps THE longest conversation he had ever exchanged with Lily Evans before.

Lily bit her lip, intertwining her fingers in her lap. "It's almost as if my parents just realized that I'm a witch... I mean, my sister's hated me since the day I got my letter, but they..." She sighed, still staring across the field. "I think they assumed I'd just get over it, you know, once Hogwarts is over... nothing would make them happier than seeing their daughter go to college, meet some wealthy Muggle, have a lavish, bragging-rights wedding and then settle down for... forever. No wands, no charms, no jinxes, nothing..." She paused, shutting her eyes once more in an embarrassed fashion. "Sorry... rambling..."

James shook his head, fervently hoping that tone of voice she used, the slight slump to her shoulders meant that she had not consigned herself to such a fate. "You turn seventeen soon, though, right?" He didn't need clarification, really- he had made a point to ask her out on her birthday for the past three years. "Then you're an adult, you can do whatever you please, forget about what they want for you completely..." He saw her smile weakly out of the corner of his eye. "I wish," she mumbled. But she continued on in a slightly louder voice, trying hard to change the subject. "And you? Going to stay here with Sirius and booby-trap the entire castle while we're gone, I imagine?"

James laughed. "Well, I wasn't, but thanks for the idea..." He chanced a glance at her, and felt the familiar swoop in his stomach when he saw the smile on her face. "Nah, I'm going home too. Taking him with me, naturally," he said, referring to Sirius, "and I'm sure we'll get a load of schoolwork done and be perfectly well-behaved." Lily scoffed and was about to counter that when James's nemesis of the day walked out onto the field.

"Potter! I've got to lock the trunk in the office! Let's go!" Charlie barked, looking up and around for any sign of James, who heaved a sigh.

"What I wouldn't give just to hex the bloody hell out of him..." he muttered, slowly standing up.

Lily raised an eyebrow, and casually noted, "Brigstock's not worth you breaking your little streak." James propped his broom against a bench, shooting her a quizzical glance. She recrossed her legs, and then met his gaze. "You know... you've been awfully civil this year... I guess you might just have some ulterior motive..."

James brightened. So she_had_ noticed- just as Remus had said she would. "Ulterior motive..." He started to move towards the edge of the stands. "Sort of like you agreeing to go on a date with Sirius, right?" Smirking, he watched her face for a reaction.

"That was... a bit different." She smiled, not wanting to say too much. Sirius had drawn out their scheme just long enough so that James would get jealous, and then publicly (and dramatically) told Lily that it was just not meant to be. It had all been an act; and Lily played along expertly. Up until now, she had been sure that James had not seen through it. James turned his head, a bit disconcerted by her answer. Deciding to forget it for the time being, he picked up his broomstick once more. Lily stood up just as he went to straddle the broom. "Hold on," she said quickly, and she picked her way through the last few rows of benches. She grinned at James's quizzical expression. "Give me a ride back down?" He smiled and waved with a flourish to the space left on the broom.

"Climb aboard." Inching forward to make room, he felt a mix of excitement and disappointment... excitement for what this could mean, disappointment over the fact that Sirius and the others would never believe him. He tried not to get his hopes up.

Lily carefully perched on the broomstick, suddenly feeling not so confident. "Just straight down, Potter... nothing fancy."

Laughing, James responded, "Straight down? Like a dive?" At the same time, he pushed away from the stands, and Lily quickly grabbed his shoulders, taking in a breath. "No, no, don't you dare..."

"Don't worry," he said cheerfully, and began to fly slowly into a gentle downward spiral. It was hard to resist playing around, just a little bit, thought James... feeling Lily's grip relax, he began to speed up, though in the process, he cut a curve a bit sharply. Lily gasped, evidently not expecting it, and threw her arms around his waist. James couldn't help but to laugh, turning his head slightly so his voice wouldn't get carried away. "I won't let you fall, you know that, right? Or was that just an attempt to hug me?"

Lily sacrificed her hold to reach out with her index finger and push his face back. "Think what you want," she added, glad he couldn't see her smile. Once she was sure that he wasn't going to pull any more tricks on her, she relaxed a bit, and even began to enjoy it. She hadn't flown since their lessons with Madam Hooch in their first year, and Lily had been too involved in academics to go out for the House team their third year.

The smile faded from her face once she noticed that the wind was not whipping as violently through her hair as before, nor was the scenery quite as blurry as they raced by. Finally, they came to a full stop- fifteen feet away from the ground. Lily stiffened. What was he playing at?

James turned to face her as best he could, grinning that damn mischievous grin that he and Sirius had down to an art. "So long as I've got you here," he began, laughing to himself at the look of indignation on Lily's face, "I've at least got to try." His right hand flew up to his hair, but instead of attempting to mess it up even more, he tried in vain to flatten it. Lily raised an eyebrow, trying hard not to look down, though her eyes cut downwards several times.

"There's a Hogsmeade visit in January," he explained, hoping Lily wouldn't question how he came about that information... he wasn't sure if it was acceptable for the Head Boy and company to be sneaking into the Staff Room under the Invisibility Cloak. Clearing his throat, he continued. "And I just thought- what if you and I just met and got a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks? Nothing further- unless you wanted to, of course..."

Her silence was making him nervous. Lily was staring intently at the ground, though without the widened gaze she had used before. "One drink?" she asked finally, looking up.

"Just one. My intentions are completely honorable, you know," he said with a slight grin, sitting up a bit straighter. "What do you say?"

Lily blanched as a gust of wind buffeted the broomstick. It forced her out of silence, though, and she sighed. "I'm sure they are... but yes, I'll come." She looked away, the color returning to her face in the form of a blush. In hindsight, things hadn't happened the way she had imagined it... but she still smiled, feeling almost relieved- though she wouldn't be completely at ease until both feet were on the ground.

James looked so elated that he was barely paying attention to how far the broom had drifted in the breeze. "It'll be great, I promise." He instantly turned back around and urged the broom on, causing Lily to gasp with surprise once more as he angled down towards the Quidditch trunk he was supposed to take up several minutes ago. Once his broom, the latest edition Cleansweep, was hovering a safe distance from the ground, he dismounted and offered a hand to Lily. She hopped off by herself, though, and James stuck his hand back in his robes, remembering the Snitch that was still there.

As he bent down to open the trunk and deposit the tiny ball, he decided to speak up once more. He had to make sure... "You know, I would have landed the broom whether you said yes or not," he said. Lily glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Oh, I know," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

---------------------------------------

**A/N:** You like? I like... as much as I can like it! I'm my own worst critic, but please leave a review and let me know what you thought - I'm having a horrible week and getting this chapter out is pretty much the only good thing I've got going right now. Muchos gracias!


	5. January

**January**

Lily Evans had never much been one for staring into mirrors. Too vain for her tastes. Nor was she ever in with the hordes of girls who hurried to the bathrooms between classes to check that their hair was still in place and their makeup fresh. But tonight seemed to be an exception.

Whether her cheeks were flushed from the chilly wind that had whipped through Hogsmeade all day, or just from how pleased she was, she couldn't tell. But she did know that the smile that had been on her face ever since she met James Potter earlier that day was not likely to disappear any time soon.

It was somewhat embarrassing. Caught her off guard, really.

Lily looked away, and after turning on the tap and filling her cupped hands with water, splashed her face several times. She then tied her hair back into a low ponytail and took out her pearl earrings. _Still_ blushing. Probably didn't help that she could barely stop thinking about him.

Clutching the clothes she had worn that day, she pushed open the bathroom door that led to her room. She threw them in a chair- unusual behavior for her. Normally she tried to save the Hogwarts house elves some work. Not tonight.

Flopping down on the bed, she sighed. She had meant to get her schoolbag out of their common room, but she didn't think she could muster the energy. Managing to kick one of her slippers off, she closed her eyes, the day still fresh in her mind.

Apparently James had 'forgotten' to tell his friends that he had to meet Lily at one o'clock. She had been able to see through the Three Broomstick's slightly cloudy windows that Peter was shocked, Remus was pretending to be shocked, and Sirius just looked slightly amused. He had winked at Lily through the window, then dragged the other two off to Zonko's, leaving James and Lily to their own devices. In his mind, he reasoned that at least they were in public, and therefore couldn't inflict too much damage on each other if things went wrong. (He sincerely hoped they didn't.)

The original deal had been one drink. They realized that when they were halfway through their third butterbeer. James had leaned a bit closer, smirking as Lily scooted her chair back half an inch, and then asked, "So was this really as horrible as you thought it'd be?"

Lily was spared having to answer that by the timely arrival of the other three Marauders.

Sirius pulled up a chair, looking highly annoyed as he did so. "Prongs, you owe us." Remus nodded, and added, "Unbelievably so."

At James and Lily's puzzled expressions, Sirius launched into an explanation. "We got bored, eventually, you know... and we didn't want to interrupt here..." His expression darkened. "So_someone_ suggested Madam _Puddifoot's_..." he spat as he threw a glance at Peter, who looked away, whistling feebly. Lily began laughing; James's face was a mixture of horror and curiosity.

"Oh, Merlin, you didn't," he breathed.

Remus nodded gravely. "Afraid we did, mate."

"And... what was it like?"

"Disgusting."

"Ghastly."

"Dreadful."

"Garish."

Lily, still giggling, hardly quailed under Sirius's reproachful look. "Well, you survived, so I guess it couldn't have been all bad?"

This time all four Marauders turned to stare at her. Remus found his voice first. "Survived? Barely... but feel free to go there yourself, I hear Puddifoot puts on a great Valentine's Day celebration..." He shuddered.

Smirking, Lily set down two Sickles on the table. "I'll have to keep that in mind," she said, grabbing her jacket. "See you later," she added, glancing at James, who had quickly stood.

"You don't have to pay," said James, sweeping the coins off the table and pressing them into her hand. Lily studied him for a second, then smiled. "If you insist."

She made for the doors, pausing only to say goodbye to Madam Rosemerta. And then, tightening her scarf, she stepped out into the cold street. James wasn't far behind her. "Wait up!" he called, pulling on a pair of gloves as he kicked the pub's door shut behind him. Lily's step faltered and she turned around, looking mildly surprised.

And so they had amicably walked around Hogsmeade for another few hours. Lily even (reluctantly) allowed herself to be dragged into Zonko's. She caught James looking at a Spell Check Quill, and he quickly replaced it, muttering about how a self-respecting Head Boy like himself would never condone such an item being used at Hogwarts.

What Lily found truly odd though was how he attempted to change the subject when they passed the Shrieking Shack. All she had done was mention that she, for one, had never heard the rumored ghosts' screams. James had replied with some off-hand comment about how loud Peter had screamed when he had found a rat in his trunk. Though curious, Lily didn't press it. Things were going too well.

Other than that, the day passed by quickly. They had headed back up to the castle with the rest of the school, and each had eaten dinner with their own group of friends.

Things were back to normal until it came time to do the rounds at night. It took a bit longer because instead of splitting up to roam the halls, they went together. Walking around in the dungeons wasn't nearly as awkward as it could have been, noted Lily, but unfortunately Peeves discovered them up near the Astronomy tower. The poltergeist was expertly juggling a set of model planets, but he quickly tired of it as soon as the Head students turned their backs on him. Saturn hit Lily in the small of her back, and James took a blow from Mercury to the head. Before he could even draw his wand, Lily had silently jinxed the annoying little man, causing him to fly backwards and become tangled up in a lit chandelier.

And now, they were back. Judging by the dim light peeking underneath the door, James was still awake, probably trying to do some homework in their common room. Lily kicked the other slipper to the floor and pulled the bedspread up to her chin, closing her eyes.

Thirty minutes later, she still hadn't slept a wink. The light was still shining in from under the door frame. She picked up her watch from off the nightstand. Fifteen past midnight. Lily figured she wouldn't fall asleep any time soon, and so she pushed the covers back and put on her slippers, making for the door.

James quickly looked up from the papers in his lap when Lily came in. He blindly shuffled them around a bit, but Lily didn't appear to notice that as she sat down on the couch across from him. Nor did James seem to notice that he was staring at her. She stared right back until she couldn't bite back a comment any longer.

"So I take it this is what they mean by 'awkward silence'?"

James averted his gaze quickly, and mimicked her smile. Easy for her to say. But Lily was hardly dressed in the Hogwarts uniform; instead, she wore a pair of red plaid pajama bottoms that sat right under her hips, and a white camisole. Shuffling his papers around a bit more, he looked back up.

"Yeah, well... when was the last time I walked around here in nothing but my boxers?" It was his turn to smirk.

Lily_nearly_ replied, "End of November," but she figured that she probably shouldn't disclose that gem. Instead, she changed the subject. "What are you reading?" she asked, motioning to his papers.

"_Prophet_," he replied, picking up the topmost one. "Did you hear what happened at that Muggle school?" He handed the paper over to her. In the process, a sheet of paper that was most definitely not the_Daily Prophet_slipped out. Thankfully, Lily's widened eyes were on the parchment.

"God, that's horrible," she breathed, her eyes scanning the front page. "Three _children_..." She couldn't suppress a shiver, but she tried to play it up as being cold. She tugged an afghan off the back of the couch.

James looked up from the piece of paper in his hands, looking distracted. "Yeah, it is..."

"What's that?"

"Nothing." James pulled his bag over, opening the flap.

"Right."

James sighed. "It's just a letter from the Ministry." At Lily's raised eyebrow, he continued. "I... I applied earlier this summer to be considered for Auror training..."

"Did they accept you?" Lily asked, her voice void of emotion.

"Well... yeah." He hardly looked happy, though. "But training alone, that takes two years... it's too long, especially with these circumstances." He gave a nod to the _Prophet_ that Lily was still holding. "There's other things I can do, things that will make a difference."

Lily sighed, and James could have sworn he saw a hint of sadness in her smile. "Order of the Phoenix?"

He nodded. "But nothing's for certain." He took the _Prophet_ back, shoving the papers unceremoniously into his bag.

Lily played with the frayed ends of the afghan. She was freezing now, though she wasn't so sure it had everything to do with the cold castle walls. "Well, I t-think I'll go b-back to bed..." she said lamely, not able to stifle a yawn.

James looked up from his bag, heaving a sigh. "Me too... long day..." He stood up and fixed her with a warm smile, watching as she folded the blanket back up and crossed her arms across her chest, rubbing her upper arms for warmth. "Want an extra blanket?"

"I'll be fine," she said, glancing up to see his smile and feeling her cheeks redden.

James shrugged a bit, an impertinent grin preceding him. "I assume you know the best way to stay warm?"

Lily shook her head and steeled herself, especially as he took a step closer. Even as she waited for him to enlighten her, she found her mind wandering...

"Share body heat, of course," he continued with a wink.

Lily's slight blush did not fade as she closed the distance between them, smiling coyly. And then, just as James was realizing what she was doing, she said quite frankly, "I hope that's not the best line you've got." She then pushed gently passed, heading for her room.

"We're not going to live forever, you know."

**A/N: **Ah, I've been waiting forever to do this chapter. Not one-hundred percent excited with it, but am I ever? Please leave a review, let me know what you think! You all are great.


	6. February

**February**

"Pass the butter, Prongs."

Nothing.

"Pass the butter, Moony."

Negative.

"Wormtail, pass the butter."

Nada.

"Evans, pass the butter."

"Why can't you get it yourself?"

"Because it's right in front of you."

"Your point?"

"I just wanted to see if you would be so kind as to-"

"Last I checked, you had both arms..."

"Damn, forget it." Sirius picked up his toast and took a bite, making a face at the red head and going for his goblet to wash it down. She raised an eyebrow and went back to reading the _Daily Prophet_.

"Lily, will you please pass the butter?"

"Sure." She laid down the paper and handed the butter tray to Remus. James sniggered at the look of indignation on Sirius's face.

"Do you have something against me and my toast?" Sirius asked, ignoring the others' grins.

Lily shook her head, not looking up. "Not particularly."

"Then what was that about?"

"You didn't say 'please.'" This got a snicker out of James, Remus, and Peter; Lily just smirked.

Sirius stood up, scowling, though good-naturedly. "Come on, let's go down to the pitch or something."

James stood up, motioning for the other two Marauders to join them. They had some... planning to do. Full moon soon, and they only had so many more months at Hogwarts. He gave Lily a quick kiss on the cheek, saying 'see you later.'

"What, am I not invited?" She smiled half-heartedly.

James was about to reply when Sirius interrupted. "You have to ask nicely, you should know that." James threw her a sympathetic look.

Lily ignored it, staring at Sirius. "Well, enjoy yourselves, try not to get too wet..."

All four Marauders looked up at the Great Hall's ceiling.

"When did it start raining?"

"About ten minutes ago, Captain Observant."

"Wasn't asking you, Evans," Sirius growled.

"Be more specific next time." She stood up as well, picking up the schoolbag she had brought with her. "And try not to get struck by lightning," she said over her shoulder, grinning. "It is Friday the 13th, you know."

------------

Hours later the Marauders were holed away in the Heads' common room, huddled over a makeshift map of Hogsmeade. It was not nearly the same caliber as their map of the school, but it was still helpful.

Originally when they had mastered their transformations, the four stayed within the walls of the Shrieking Shack. But soon even that became boring. They began to explore. First, they sent Peter out to scout ahead, and once they knew that it was (relatively) safe, they left the Shack and started roaming Hogsmeade. There had been close calls, but nothing overly dangerous. With the exception of the Snivellus incident the year before. They didn't speak of that.

Sirius had been strangely quiet for most of the day, not offering much in the way of suggestions for their upcoming full moon. Normally he came up with something devious and/or just plain fun.

"You alright, mate?" James asked, looking at Sirius, who quickly glanced up. He had been alternating between staring at the fireplace and the grandfather clock all day.

"Fine..." he said, slowly getting to his feet. "Hungry, actually. Who wants to go nick some food with me?"

James had barely gotten his mouth open to respond before Remus hopped up, saying, "Yeah, let's go!" He quickly led the way out, and a sulky, suspicious Sirius followed.

Silence filled the room, save for Peter's tapping of his quill against the cover of a textbook. James sighed loudly, trying to get his attention, but nothing doing.

------------

A different sort of silence had engulfed Remus and Sirius. The awkward kind. Remus had apparently lost his enthusiasm once they were out of the room. Now en route to the kitchens, the sound of their every footstep seemed to echo off the stone walls.

So it was a bit of a shock at the loud 'ow' that hit them (quite literally) when they rounded a corner.

"Damn it," said a decidedly female voice. To the boys' surprise, it was Lily. Remus kneeled to grab a book she had dropped, but Sirius had stiffened. After taking back her book and thanking Remus under her breath, she threw a slightly puzzled, slightly offended look at Sirius. "All right?" She tugged her sweater down, and Remus saw a bloom of purple stain on her white Oxford underneath.

Sirius gave an off-handed shake of his head. "Sure." Both Remus and Lily were giving him quizzical looks now. He nodded in the direction that Lily had come from. "Where've you been?" he asked.

"None of your business, really, is it?" Lily responded coolly, albeit with a twinkle in her eye.

Sirius evidently missed that. "Yeah, I think it is, actually."

"How come?" On the defensive, now. "Funny, I thought James was Head Boy, not you."

"Yeah, well," Sirius began eloquently. "Head Boy's best mate, that seems to warrant some respect. Seriously, where've you been?"

Lily raised an eyebrow, indignant. "Right, revered by the first years. What's that they call you? Padfoot? Well, _Padfoot,_ since you asked so nicely, I've been helping Professor Slughorn."

"With what? Alone?"

Remus recognized the reddish tinge in her face to mean that she was getting fed up, fast. All the same, there was a bit of a worried glint in her eye.

"Slughorn asked me to help him with more difficult potion - Felix Felicis. And no, we weren't alone." She spat out the last word, hating the connotation.

"Who else was there, then?"

"Severus." She looked away, missing the stunned look on Sirius's face. "What does it matter?"

He was silent for a few seconds. Then: "_Helping Slughorn._ You're a horrible liar, Evans."

------------

A door slamming shut is one thing. A door slamming open is totally different.

James wondered how it was even possible for a door to slam open. Somehow, Lily had managed it. She had never failed to impress him.

Normally, when she looked as angry as she did, he would have glanced up, gave her a sympathetic but winning look, and then just let her have some space. Normally, she was just peeved about receiving less than top marks on a paper or an impertinent sixth year.

But there was something very different going on now. He quickly stood up, leaving Peter who had just finally stopped tapping his damn quill.

"Lily?"

"What?" came her snappy reply as she walked over to her desk.

"Are you okay?"

"Just great!"

He slowly edged over. "Yeah, seems like it." He watched as she flung her bag in the chair and peeled off her grey Hogwarts sweater. "What happened?" he asked quickly, noticing the bright purple stain on her shirt.

"I knocked over a vial on Slughorn's desk, it was an accident." She sniffed, still looking upset. "You can ask your _best friend_, though, he knows the real truth..."

James groaned. "I'm sure... come on, tell me what _really_ happened."

Sighing, Lily went over to the couch, flopping down gracefully. She cast a glance at the papers on the coffee table, raising an eyebrow. James quickly followed her and brushed the papers to the floor, certain that she had seen the bold title on the Marauder's Map. He intended to inform her... eventually. Now wasn't the time, he guessed.

"Have I done something to him? He's being a total prat," she said. "He nearly accused me of..." She sighed, shaking her head. James's reaction wouldn't be good - either he wouldn't believe her, or worse, he'd believe Sirius. "It doesn't matter," she said, trying to smile.

James's brow was furrowed. It didn't take a genius to tell she was lying. But what would be bothering her so much? He chanced a look at Peter, who was staring between them as if they were a fast-paced tennis match. When he caught James's eye, he shrugged and cleared his throat.

"I think he's somewhat jealous," said Peter. Lily looked up at this and he was compelled to continue. "He sort of thought you two would have broken up by now..." The other two looked a bit shocked, a bit angry, and so Peter decided it was time for him to exit while he still could. "You didn't hear it from me!" He quickly grabbed his wand and walked out the door.

Lily grabbed a pillow from the other side of the couch and buried her face in it. James could barely hear her when she said, "I guess this is what I get for even waking up on Friday the 13th." She shook slightly; James hoped she was laughing.

"No worries," James said, infusing confidence into his voice. "Not your problem. Besides," he said, pulling the pillow away gently, "tomorrow's going to be a million times better."

She groaned. He frowned.

"Valentine's day. How could I have forgotten..."

He grinned. Her sarcasm was back, that was good. "Remember when I got that pixie to fly around behind you all day?"

"Unfortunately..." She was smiling, too, now.

"Not one of my better ideas, I know," he said, sitting down next to her and throwing an arm over her shoulders. "Just you wait, though."

Lily sat back, glancing over to him. "How many rules are going to be broken in the process?"

"More than you'd care to think about."

"Oh, good."

"Let's just say, part 'A' involves _not_ going to Hogsmeade, two pinches of Floo Powder and this fireplace. And part 'B'... my invisibility cloak, ice cream, and the top of the Astronomy tower."

In between spurts of laughing, Lily managed to get out, "You're too much. Seriously..."

"I'm being serious!" He sighed dramatically and pulled her closer, sincerely hoping Sirius - or Remus or Peter, for that matter - didn't choose then to walk in on them. They'd be a bit busy...

**A/N: **If there was a contest as to how long you could go without updating, I would win, hands down. Accept my snivelling apology. I had absolutely no idea where to take this one- the first part just came to me randomly, and the rest wasn't as inspired. Failure at life as usual, I know. Please leave a review, even if you're flaming me, hehe.


	7. March

**March**

"What the bloody hell have we done this time?" Remus groaned, knowing that 'we' did not - could not possibly - include himself, yet at the same time, it would.

"Read it again," Sirius urged, and Peter nodded. The Marauders were en route back to the castle after their slack class of the day, Herbology. In the middle of a demonstration by Professor Sprout, a first year had come scurrying in and handed the note to James.

"To Messrs. Black, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Potter," said James, his gaze on the parchment in his hands, save for a few upward glances every now and then. "If your busy schedule allows, I should very much like to have an hour of your time tonight in my office at seven o'clock. The password is 'stringmint.' (I am certain you know the location of my office very well by now.) Until then, Professor Dumbledore."

He pocketed the letter and looked to each of his friends in turn.

Sirius looked relatively unconcerned, though it was always a bit hard to tell with him. Remus was staring at the ground, biting his lip. Peter just shrugged.

"It doesn't sound that serious," Peter began. "He's pretty up front, usually, right? He'd say something if it was about our... what was it, 'blatant disregard for any regulation, law, command, or rule'?" They all smirked a bit, remembering the last time McGonagall had yelled at them.

Remus looked pale, but James couldn't tell if that was from their current situation, or just the after-effects of his transformation the previous weekend. It was a Tuesday afternoon, so he had had a few days to recuperate, but the year end stress was starting to add up, as well. Studying for NEWTs and whatnot. James for one was unconcerned; his OWLs had been a breeze.

"And any ways, there's no chance of us being in trouble. We haven't done anything... just planned," Sirius noted, but as he said it, a realization dawned on him. "Damn it, Wormtail, you did it again, didn't you?"

"Did what!" Peter said in a hurried squeak of a voice.

"You've gone and told someone about our plan!"

"What plan?" This time it was Remus, looking suspicious.

"It's nothing," James said quickly, "we were going to tell you about it tonight."

"I don't remember any plans!" Peter said, still looking slightly terrified.

"Maybe he really did forget," James admitted to Sirius, who looked unconvinced.

"Well, Peter, if this little rendez-vous with Dumbledore has anything to do with a certain underground portion of the castle being underwater in the near future..." he said, frowning, "I will personally see to it that you don't have to transform in order to have a tail."

-----------------------------------

At two minutes to seven, most of the Gryffindors, Marauders included, were lingering in the Great Hall, reluctant to leave and start their homework. Remus finally sighed loudly, looking at his watch. "I guess it's time."

They moved slowly, perhaps hoping that if they were late enough, Dumbledore would just forget and go on with his other plans. Speaking of Dumbledore, he hadn't been at dinner. That in itself wasn't too abnormal, but on this night, they did think it was a bit odd.

"Wait up," James said, looking down the table. The slight smile on his face faded. They followed his gaze and saw that the bench was empty where Lily normally sat. "Where is she?" James asked to no one in particular.

"You just missed her," said a sixth-year that James didn't know too well. Charlotte was her name, maybe? Lily had told him at one point, but he had been a bit distracted. "She said she had something to go to, maybe a Slug Club meeting? I'm not sure."

James frowned. "Thanks." He turned back to his friends. "Well, I'll see her tonight, anyway. Shall we?" He picked up his things and slid back into his robe, feeling the Head Boy badge on his chest. He sincerely hoped he wasn't about to lose it.

-----------------------------------

"Sir, your note did say seven o'clock, correct?"

"Yes, Miss Evans, you're on time. I'm afraid the other invitees are running behind..."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Who else is coming?"

"You'll see," Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eye.

The red haired Head Girl sat back in her chair, too curious to be annoyed. Four empty chairs were around her, two on each side.

Unlike most other professors, Dumbledore didn't let the next few minutes float by in silence. He questioned her about nearly everything - her classes, her homework, her NEWTs, her family, what she would like to do later on, if she was enjoying her role as Head Girl, if the accommodations were working out. (She couldn't stop herself from blushing when she answered that particular one.)

Finally, at five minutes past the hour, the sound of a stampede of footsteps could be heard in the stairwell. Lily turned slightly in her chair, and almost before they had even knocked, Dumbledore called out, "Enter."

James, Remus, Sirius and Peter edged into the room, each one wearing a similar yet unique expression on their face. A bit of guilt, a pinch of curiosity, a handful of worry.

Lily looked from the boys to Dumbledore, utterly confused.

"I'm quite glad you were able to make it," the headmaster said with a smile. He motioned to the chairs. "Please, have a seat."

James seemed to register this request first, and he quickly moved forward and sat down to Lily's left. Remus followed and sat on the opposite side. Sirius and Peter took the remaining seats, watching as Dumbledore held up his wand, pointing towards the door, mumbling a few incantations under his breath. At the students' questioning looks, he smiled and said, "This is for your ears only." He then looked back to his desk, shuffling a few sheets of parchment around.

"Um, sir," James said with a breath. "We're not in trouble, are we?"

"Should you be?"

Sirius, looking irritated, quickly jumped in. "No, of course not."

"Good, good. In any case, McGonnagall seems to have all your punishment needs covered, judging by the amount of detentions you four have racked up in the past month."

Lily raised an eyebrow. So this was where their sudden newfound interest in 'studying at the library' came from. James glanced over at her and grinned.

Dumbledore pushed his glasses a bit further down on his nose, looking over them at the five Gryffindors. "Well, then, if you have no further questions for the moment, I'd like to ask some for myself."

He steepled his fingers together, still watching them intently as he continued. "What do you know of the Order of the Phoenix?"

-----------------------------------

Two hours passed without a single glance to the clock or a bored sigh. On the contrary, in fact. Each student had numerous questions, which they asked as the others sat up, listening intently. But Dumbledore knew he could not keep them much longer without risking a teacher stopping them in the halls and probing questions.

He cleared his throat when they had lulled into silence. "I'm afraid that for tonight, we should stop here. However, there is one thing I forgot to bring up. Remus?"

Everyone turned to look at Remus, who caught Dumbledore's eye and frowned resignedly.

"I think it's time to come clean with your friends for what you really are."

Before she looked away, Lily saw a glint in the headmaster's eye again. On either side of her, the Marauders were trying to hide knowing grins.

Remus sighed, trying to look at his friends as much as Lily. "I... I've got a furry little problem," he said with a nervous laugh.

Lily raised an eyebrow, and beyond the desk, Dumbledore was wearing a knowing smile as he watched James, Sirius, and Peter try to stifle their grins.

"Don't think of me any differently," he continued. "Well, I mean, if you really wanted to, I guess, you know, you could, but it's... controlled and I'm still Remus Lupin." Another nervous laugh. Lily was a good person, he knew, but he really just wasn't up to facing the shock. He had never had to tell his friends - they had figured it out themselves. In that case, he was the one who was shocked.

"I'm a werewolf," he breathed.

A hand flew to Lily's mouth, and for an instant, they all waited for a gasp, a scream, a sound of surprise. Instead: "Oh, Remus." She looked nothing but sympathetic as she sat back in her chair. The other boys reluctantly looked up to Dumbledore, realizing that they should have expressed some faked surprise or something. The headmaster just winked.

-----------------------------------

**A/N: **Sorry for the lame chapter. All I had in mind for it was A) meeting and B) Remus. And that's pretty much all that came out. I would dedicate this to Lora-Lai, for being president of my one-member fan club, but this was so pathetic, that I'm going to wait until I come up with something much more brilliant. Like the next chapter of Caught Dead, which you should read. (And seriously, stop with the AGHHHH NO SIRIUS/LILY! It makes me laugh every time and tempts me that much more just to do it.) Anyways. Please let me know how bad this sucked, on a scale of 1 to 10, via reviews. And go read "The Girl in the Looking Glass," and THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who has reviewed so far!

Edited to add: I couldn't figure out why I hadn't gotten any reviews. Then it hit me: I forgot to add the document to the story. Go Erin!


	8. April

**April**

All through dinner, Remus's suspicions had been mounting. Something was up. Lily and James were always polite to each other in public, never truly succumbing to any public displays of affection (though James had expressed his regret about that numerous times). Lily would sit halfway between them and her own friends, talking and laughing with both groups, always listening and even being cordial to Sirius. James had yet to drop the bait of telling a joke, and then ruffling his hair and looking in Lily's direction. He had been doing it since roughly their third year. 

But tonight, tonight something was amiss. It certainly didn't look like they'd had a row; far from it, in fact. Instead, Lily was very quiet, much quieter than normal, the barest trace of a grin on her face as she stared determinedly away from James and the rest of them. He was staring at her even more than normal, so distracted that he didn't even laugh when Peter reached for the baguette and knocked over a pitcher of ice water in the process.

Remus sighed loudly, and looked to Sirius, who made a show of pretending he hadn't been staring at a quite pretty Hufflepuff sixth year. "What's up?"

Jerking his head over towards James in the most nonchalant manner he could manage, Remus picked up his fork once more. Sirius, evidently not knowing the nuances of subtlety, raised an eyebrow and then resumed his staring. Remus knew better than try to get Peter's attention. Wormtail would probably poke Lily in the arm and ask if she was feeling alright.

But just as he was about to resign himself to the rest of this very unusual, very quiet dinner, something happened.

James stood up abruptly, grabbing his things and swinging his robes over his arm. "See you... have to go... um... library, yeah, have to go to the library." He exchanged a pointed glance with Lily, and then headed for the Entrance Hall.

The remaining Marauders' gazes were still on James when Lily, too, got to her feet. She had barely touched her dinner. Pulling her things off of the seat next to her, she smiled apologetically. "I've got to leave, too... need to go see Professor McGonnagall, actually." She set off down the aisle, also aiming towards the Entrance Table. However, she completely bypassed the staff table, and in the process, McGonnagall. As soon as her black robes disappeared through the door frame, Remus turned to his friends.

"They're up to something."

"Come off it."

"Did you not just see that?"

"Moony. Think. What on earth would they be doing? It's Evans, for Merlin's sake, it's not like she and Prongs are out there pulling off some stunt," Sirius said reasonably. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Peter butted in.

"They've been a bit... different since that party," Sirius said, unable to hide his smirk, referring to the post-game celebration they had after Gryffindor defeated Slytherin in Quidditch. "Disappeared awfully fast, didn't they, and I never did find that last crate of butterbeer..."

-----------------------------

Remus probably should have just kept his mouth shut. Not two minutes after Lily and James had made their exit, the other three Marauders had decided to give chase. They had each taken different paths, with Peter passing by the (closed) Library, Sirius checking the Prefect's bathroom on his way through the shortcuts, and Remus opening up the Marauder's Map as he took the long route, expertly avoiding trap steps and the like as he searched for his friends' names.

They had convened at the portrait hole, and after making their way through and checking the common room, they headed up the stairs, only pausing outside the door to the top floor.

"Why are we doing this again?"

"Damn, Moony, are you or are you not curious about what they're up to?"

"Of course I am. I just don't really see why we're sneaking into their-"

"Shhhh."

Sirius peeked into the room. Empty. He slipped through the door and waited for Remus and Peter to file in as well, shutting it softly behind them. At Peter's snickering, he looked to the floor.

"Well, at least we know what they're doing," Peter whispered.

James's bookbag had been unceremoniously dropped right next to the door, and his robe had been deposited a few feet away, also strewn on the floor. Lily's things had been thrown on an armchair. Remus noticed that the couch looked like it had been recently vacated.

"Well," he said shortly, shoving his hands in his robes. "Guess that's that, then, let's go..."

Sirius held a finger up to his lips, grinning. He tiptoed to James's bedroom door.

-----------------------------

On the other side of the door, Lily and James froze. There wasn't really a good word for what position they were in: certainly not innocent, judging by where James's right hand was resting, but not too incriminating either. At any rate, they were still clothed. More or less.

Lily buried her head in James's shoulder, shaking a bit from silent laughter. So much for trying to be alone, she mused. She slowly edged out from between James and the wall, pulling her dark red hair into a ponytail. Blushing furiously, she tried to give James a sympathetic smile, seeing the look on his face. Half embarassment, half frustration.

She then ducked into the bathroom, willing her blush to go away as she waited. And then: a knock on James's door. She quickly walked to her own door, and opened it wide, peering out. Time to be convincing.

"Alright?"

Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked in her direction so fast it made her own neck hurt. They looked a bit shocked. "Yeah," said Remus, gaining his voice back first. "We were, uh..."

"Just wondering..." continued Peter.

"We were wondering why you two ran off so fast," said Sirius confidently.

"Ran off? Hardly..."

"Well, that's what it looked like," Remus replied sheepishly.

Lily took a deep breath. "Oh. Well, James is in the bathroom, I believe, and I'm just working on that History of Magic essay."

The look on their faces was priceless.

"What essay?"

"You don't remember? It's due tomorrow! Y'know... the pixie-smuggling one," she lied with little difficulty. Anything to get them out of there.

For a minute, she thought Remus might have seen through it. But he was also the first to sigh, and say, "come on, we need to do that." They slowly left the room, with Sirius casting glance over his shoulder, along with a rather impertinent grin.

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**A/N**: It's probably a personal record for me - I finished writing this in like an hour or less - but unfortunately that doesn't mean it's perfect. I made some really stupid errors and no one called me on them! Thanks guys :-p Anyways I'm definitely finding that this type of chapter is so much more fun to write. Heh heh. So, leave a review if you've read this far, I really really appreciate anything I get.


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